Connecticut General Statutes 10-183t – Health insurance
(a) The board shall offer one or more health benefit plans to: Any member receiving retirement benefits or a disability allowance from the system; the spouse or surviving spouse of such member, and a disabled dependent of such member if there is no spouse or surviving spouse, provided such member, spouse, surviving spouse, or disabled dependent is participating in Medicare Part A hospital insurance and Medicare Part B medical insurance. The board may offer one or more basic plans, the cost of which to any such member, spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent shall be one-third of the basic plan’s premium equivalent, and one or more optional plans, provided such member, spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent shall pay one-third of the basic plan’s premium equivalent plus the difference in cost between any such basic plans and any such optional plans. The board shall designate those plans which are basic and those plans which are optional for the purpose of determining such cost and the amount to be charged or withheld from benefit payments for such plans. The surviving spouse of a member, or a disabled dependent of a member if there is no surviving spouse, shall not be ineligible for participation in any such plan solely because such surviving spouse or disabled dependent is not receiving benefits from the system. With respect to any person participating in any such plan, the state shall appropriate to the board one-third of the cost of such basic plan or plans, or one-third of the cost of the rate in effect during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, whichever is greater.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 10-183t
- Board: means the Teachers' Retirement Board. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
- Contributions: means amounts withheld pursuant to this chapter and paid to the board by an employer from compensation payable to a member. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Disabled: means the inability to perform any teaching service, whether or not such service is performed full-time or part-time, in a public or nonpublic school or a nonschool setting, on a volunteer basis or for compensation, within or without the state, or engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that (A) is permanent or can be expected to last continually for not less than twelve months from the onset of such impairment, or (B) can be expected to result in death or to be of long-continued and indefinite duration, except that during the first twenty-four months that a member is receiving a disability allowance, "disabled" means the inability to perform the usual duties of the member's occupation by reason of any such impairment. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
- Employer: means an elected school committee, a board of education, the State Board of Education, the Office of Early Childhood, the Technical Education and Career System, the Board of Regents for Higher Education or any of the constituent units, the governing body of the Children's Center and its successors, The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, the E. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Member: means any Connecticut teacher employed (A) on, and compensated for, the first school day, in accordance with the member's contractual schedule, and (B) for an average of at least one-half of each school day after the first school day, except that no teacher who under any provision of the general statutes elects not to participate in the system shall be a member unless and until the teacher elects to participate in the system. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
- month: means a calendar month, and the word "year" means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
- Surviving spouse: means a widow or widower of a deceased member who (A) was living with the member at the time of the member's death, or receiving, or entitled by court order or agreement to receive, regular support payments from the member, and (B) has not remarried. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
- System: means the Connecticut teachers' retirement system. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
(b) (1) Any member who (A) is receiving retirement benefits or a disability allowance from the system, the spouse or surviving spouse of such member, or a disabled dependent of such member if there is no spouse or surviving spouse, and who is not participating in Medicare Part A hospital insurance and Medicare Part B medical insurance, and (B) meets the state’s eligibility criteria for health insurance or is eligible to participate in the group health insurance plan offered by such member’s last employing board of education, may fully participate in any or all group health insurance plans maintained for active teachers by such member’s last employing board of education, or by the state in the case of a member who was employed by the state, upon payment to such board of education or to the state, as applicable, by such member, spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent, of the premium charged for the member’s form of coverage. Such premium shall be no greater than that charged for the same form of coverage for active teachers.
(2) The member’s spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent shall not be ineligible for participation in any such plan solely because such spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent is not receiving benefits from the system. No person shall be ineligible for participation in such plans for failure to enroll in such plans at the time the member’s retirement benefit or disability allowance became effective.
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to impair or alter the provisions of any collective bargaining agreement relating to the payment by a board of education of group health insurance premiums on behalf of any member receiving benefits from the system. Prior to the cancellation of coverage for any member, spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent for failure to pay the required premiums or cost due, the board of education or the state, if applicable, shall notify the Teachers’ Retirement Board of its intention to cancel such coverage at least thirty days prior to the date of cancellation. Absent any contractual provisions to the contrary, the payments made pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall be first applied to any cost borne by the member, spouse, surviving spouse or disabled dependent participating in any such plan.
(4) As used in this subsection, “last employing board of education” means the board of education by which such member was employed when such member filed his or her initial application for retirement, and “health insurance plans” means hospital, medical, major medical, dental, prescription drug or auditory benefit plans that are available to active teachers.
(c) (1) On and after July 1, 2022, the board shall pay a subsidy of two hundred twenty dollars, to the board of education or to the state, if applicable, on behalf of any member who is receiving retirement benefits or a disability allowance from the system, the spouse of such member, the surviving spouse of such member, or a disabled dependent of such member if there is no spouse or surviving spouse, who is participating in a health insurance plan maintained by a board of education or by the state, if applicable. Such payment shall not exceed the actual cost of such insurance.
(2) With respect to any person participating in any such plan pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the state shall appropriate to the board one-third of the cost of the subsidy, except that, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, the state shall appropriate twenty-five per cent of the cost of the subsidy. On and after July 1, 2018, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, and for each fiscal year thereafter, fifty per cent of the total amount appropriated by the state in each such fiscal year for the state’s share of the cost of such subsidies shall be paid to the board on or before July first of such fiscal year, and the remaining fifty per cent of such total amount shall be paid to the board on or before December first of such fiscal year.
(3) No payment to a board of education pursuant to this subsection may be used to reduce the amount of any premium payment on behalf of any such member, spouse, surviving spouse, or disabled dependent, made by such board pursuant to any agreement in effect on July 1, 1990. On and after July 1, 2022, the board shall pay a subsidy of four hundred forty dollars per month on behalf of the member, spouse or the surviving spouse of such member who: (A) Has attained the normal retirement age to participate in Medicare, (B) is not eligible for Medicare Part A without cost, and (C) contributes at least four hundred forty dollars per month towards his or her medical and prescription drug plan provided by the board of education.
(d) The Treasurer shall establish a separate retired teachers’ health insurance premium account within the Teachers’ Retirement Fund. Commencing July 1, 1989, and annually thereafter all health benefit plan contributions withheld under this chapter in excess of five hundred thousand dollars shall, upon deposit in the Teachers’ Retirement Fund, be credited to such account. Interest derived from the investment of funds in the account shall be credited to the account. Funds in the account shall be used for (1) payments to boards of education pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and for payment of premiums on behalf of members, spouses of members, surviving spouses of members or disabled dependents of members participating in one or more health insurance plans pursuant to subsection (a) of this section in an amount equal to the difference between the amount paid pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and the amount paid pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, and (2) payments for professional fees associated with the administration of the health benefit plans offered pursuant to this section. If, during any fiscal year, there are insufficient funds in the account for the purposes of all such payments, the General Assembly shall appropriate sufficient funds to the account for such purpose.
(e) (1) Not later than the first business day of February, May, August and November of each year, each employer shall submit to the board, in a format required by the board, any information the board determines to be necessary concerning additions, deletions and premium changes for the health insurance subsidy program described in subsection (c) of this section. Any report received by the board after the due date shall be processed in the following quarterly cycle. An employer’s failure to timely submit a quarterly report shall result in a delay of the subsidy for that quarter and the board shall pay the subsidy as a retroactive subsidy, as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(2) Retroactive subsidy payments shall be limited to six months prior to the first day of the month in which the board receives an untimely report that includes newly eligible retired members or dependents. The board shall pay the subsidy retroactively to the effective date of the disability, provided any eligible members or dependents are added to the report not later than the first quarter following the board’s approval of the disability and the member’s disability allowance is initiated within four months of board approval. The employer shall hold any member or dependent harmless for any costs associated with, arising from or out of the loss of the benefit of the subsidy as a result of the employer’s untimely or inaccurate filing of the quarterly report.